7 FAQs When Shipping From China To Vietnam For Importers

1. What are the shipping methods when shipping goods from China to Vietnam?

There are many types of freight transport for you to choose from such as:

Sea freight: If you want to save costs, and ship a large quantity of goods back to the country while still ensuring safety, you can absolutely use this form of transportation. On the contrary, if you need to ship goods back quickly in a short time without caring too much about the cost or quantity, you can consider using another form of transportation.

A freight forwarder can provide:

• LCL shipping: This is a form of collecting small goods from many shippers, and then packing them together in one container. Advice for you to choose LCL shipping when:
• Goods have a volume of 1-15cbm (about half a 20ft container).
• There is no need to send goods urgently to Vietnam because sending LCL goods will depend on each other shipper.
• LCL shipping is suitable for orders with small quantities. When sending LCL goods, there is no need to pack them on pallets and just need to mark the box (Shipping Mark).
• FCL shipping: FCL goods are full containers of one sender. At that time, the sender and the recipient will be responsible for packing and unloading the goods from the container. You should send FLC goods when:
• You send large quantities of goods from China to Vietnam. When packing full containers, the cost will be cheaper than sending LCL goods.
• Suitable for sending valuable, perishable, dangerous or high-risk items.

Road freight: 

• Transporting goods from China to Vietnam by road is cheap. Therefore, it will help you save on transportation costs.
• You can be flexible with your time, there is no need to wait for a trip by sea, air, or rail. As long as there is enough cargo, the goods will be transported and there is no need to spend time transferring goods at the airport, port, or wharf.
• Transport a variety of goods as well as the quantity of goods by road. This method can transport most items such as Machinery, equipment, food, bulky goods, etc.
• The biggest limitation of transporting goods from China to Vietnam is that you have to wait a long time to receive the goods. You are also susceptible to risks such as traffic accidents, traffic jams, border jams, loss of fees at stations or ferry bridges, etc.

Air freight: Although less popular when importing goods from China, shipping freight forwarders still provide air transport for high-value orders or urgent delivery when requested.

2. How long does it take to ship goods from China to Vietnam?

Goods are transported from major seaports in China to Hai Phong, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City ports. The time to receive the goods will depend on the delivery location. Below is detailed information about the seaports and the time to receive the goods when sending goods from China to Vietnam by sea for your reference.

3. How much does it cost to ship from China to Vietnam?

Freight rates from China will depend on many factors such as supplier, shipping location, order volume, and carrier policies. Basically, the shipping cost you pay to the freight forwarder to handle your shipment will be based on the Incoterm you choose. You can take these as references for your shipment. For example:

4. What are the prohibited items to be shipped to Vietnam?

You should avoid or limit placing these types of goods from China to avoid risks when being detained at customs:

• Weapons, ammunition, explosives, military technical equipment.
• Drugs.
• Substances that make up counterfeit or illegal goods
• Veterinary products and animal food
• Precious metals and precious stones
• Petroleum and gas products
• Toxic chemicals.
• Obscene and reactionary cultural products.
• Fireworks of all kinds. Children’s toys hurt personality education social order and safety.
• Cigarettes (except for personal luggage according to quantity).
• Used consumer goods (except for movable assets including goods serving the needs of individuals with the diplomatic status of countries, international organizations, and personal luggage according to quantity).
• Cars and self-propelled vehicles of all kinds with left-hand drive (including disassembled types).
• Used spare parts for all types of automobiles, two-wheeled and three-wheeled motorbikes, including chassis with used automobile engines of all types.

5. How will customs clearance and tax issues be handled in China and Vietnam ports?

When the goods are transported to the seaport in Vietnam, they will be declared, paid taxes, and received. This is a complicated process, you need a party to support you, the freight forwarding company will support you with all these procedures, and provide detailed information on taxes and customs requirements so that your shipment can safely arrive in Vietnam with full legal documents. 

Procedures include a Sales contract between the seller and the buyer (Sales Contract) or can be replaced by a purchase order (Purchase Order), Packing List (Packing List) is a list of goods according to the agreement from the contract, Commercial Invoice, Bill Of Lading, C/O form E (if any).

Note: In the case of transporting flammable and explosive items, dangerous chemicals, etc, it is necessary to provide a chemical safety instruction sheet MSDS. For transporting goods that are baterias, a certificate of safe transportation is required. The manufacturer will be the one to provide these documents. When booking or checking prices, the shipping company will require these two documents to confirm whether or not the shipment can be shipped to Vietnam.

6. Which Chinese port do I choose when Shipping to Vietnam?

Here are some Chinese ports where you can ship to Vietnam depending on the distance of your shipment to the nearest port:

Shanghai Port: It is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, Shanghai city. This is the largest seaport in the world in terms of container throughput. The number of ships is large, so the sea transport schedule from Shanghai to Vietnam is considered dense, you have many options from ship type and travel time.

Shenzhen Port: located in Shenzhen city, Guangdong province. As the second largest seaport in China, Shenzhen port has a huge number of ships entering and leaving every day. Every week, the ship schedule from Shenzhen to Hai Phong and Cat Lai ports is always regular, with 5-8 trips/week.

Ningbo Port: one of the largest and most important seaports in Eastern China, located in Ningbo City, Zhejiang province. Shipping lines specializing in the Ningbo-Vietnam route with good prices and services that you can choose now such as SITC, TSL, WANHAI, ASL, EMC, HMM, GOLD STAR LINES, CNC, MCC, IAL.

Qingdao Port: Located on the coast of the Yellow Sea, Qingdao City, Shandong Province. The port is currently a place to concentrate and transfer cargo containers to the mainland or Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

Tianjin Port: In the China-Vietnam shipping route, especially the route to the seaports in the Tianjin Port area (Xingang Port), there are an average of 4 container ships per week to transport FCL and LCL containers.

Xiamen Port: It is in Southern China, located in Xiamen City, Fujian province. As one of the largest seaports in the world, the number of ships arriving and departing from Xiamen is always busy. Every week, the ship schedule from Xiamen to Hai Phong and Cat Lai ports is maintained stably, with 5 to 7 trips per week.

7. Which Vietnam ports do I choose to ship my goods from China?

In Vietnam, Chinese shipping companies often choose major seaports in Hanoi, Hai Phong, and Ho Chi Minh City to transport goods for the domestic market such as:

• Hai Phong Port

Hai Phong Port is conveniently located near the capital city of Hanoi in Vietnam, making it an ideal port if you want to ship your goods to Hanoi or its surrounding areas.

Lach Huyen Container Port is the port with the most advanced facilities for handling containers in the Hai Phong area, the port can handle 10 million cargoes annually.

These include quay cranes, gantry cranes, and 5 wharves, all of which are used for loading and unloading containers. It is also worth noting that the port also has a warehouse area of ​​about 52,000 square meters.

With this information, you do not have to worry about importing goods from China to Vietnam – Hai Phong Seaport will serve you.

• Da Nang Port

Da Nang Port is located at the beginning of the East-West economic corridor, it has become an important connecting port helping Vietnam connect with China.